BREAKING: FBI Interview Reveals Key West Realtor Described Building Department Shortcuts Under Ramsingh
FD-302 summary, released as discovery in former Building Official’s prosecution, shows informal permit closures were routine — but realtor faces no allegations of wrongdoing.
A newly released FBI interview summary, filed as discovery in the criminal prosecution of former Chief Building Official Rajindhar “Raj” Ramsingh, reveals that longtime Key West real-estate broker Bascom Grooms described routinely contacting Ramsingh to “administratively close” open building permits when city staff failed to respond — a practice that investigators believe reflects City Hall’s broader culture of informal access.
The four-page FD-302, entered into the court record October 10 and prepared by Special Agents J.G. Bennett and Rhonda A. Squizzero, memorializes an October 2 interview at the RP Business Center on North Roosevelt Boulevard. Grooms’ attorney Colleen Reed was present throughout.
According to the report, Grooms said his firm, Bascom Grooms Real Estate, Inc., founded in 1999 with about 15 agents, routinely checked the City of Key West’s eTRAKiT system for open permits and code violations before listing or closing a property.
When departmental emails went unanswered, he said he would “get involved and contact the CBO” — referring to Ramsingh — to see if the permit could be closed administratively.
“Most home-sales contracts have language citing no open permits as a condition of the contract,” Grooms told investigators. “It is not a title defect.”
The FD-302 notes that Grooms’ staff sometimes scheduled inspections when contractors were unavailable and, in other cases, sought administrative closures through the Building Department. It is believed those practices created an uneven process that benefited brokers and contractors with direct access to senior officials.
Grooms has not been accused of any wrongdoing and is not a subject of any criminal case. His cooperation, as reflected in the FBI report, appears intended to help agents understand how routine real-estate transactions intersected with city permitting systems.
Text Messages Between Grooms and Ramsingh
The discovery materials include a November 22, 2023 exchange concerning permit #BLD2023-1801 at 1800 Atlantic Blvd., Unit 128C, in which Ramsingh informed Grooms the matter was “taken care of,” to which Grooms replied, “U da man … Happy Thanksgiving.”
It is believed the messages illustrate the casual tone and direct access brokers enjoyed under Ramsingh’s leadership. While the texts show no criminal intent on Grooms’ part, they demonstrate how routine communication between the Building Department and local professionals often occurred outside formal record-keeping channels.
A Widening Investigation
Grooms told agents he has known Raj Ramsingh since the 1990s “both personally and professionally,” though their relationship had grown distant. He also knew members of the Ramsingh family but said he never worked with former City Attorney Ron Ramsingh, Raj’s brother.
The interview is part of the broader federal–state investigation at 1300 White Street, which has already resulted in 21 felony indictments against Raj Ramsingh, former City Attorney Ron Ramsingh, and former Code Enforcement Director Jim Young — dubbed the “Bubba Bozo Trio.”
While the FBI document contains no conclusions or recommendations, it is believed to provide the clearest federal record yet of how real-estate professionals and regulators interacted during Ramsingh’s tenure — often blurring the boundary between efficiency and official oversight.
What the FBI Learned from Bascom Grooms
A window into Key West’s permitting culture
The FD-302 depicts a system where personal relationships frequently substituted for formal procedure. Realtors learned that calling or texting the Chief Building Official could resolve issues faster than official channels.
When workarounds become the norm
“Administrative closures” — clearing permits without full inspection — were widely accepted as practical shortcuts. It is believed those habits ultimately eroded transparency and accountability within the department.
Why it matters
The Grooms interview and accompanying text exchanges suggest how everyday convenience evolved into systemic vulnerability — and why the current prose.cutions are being viewed as a chance to restore public confidence in local government.
This is an evolving story. Watch this space.